well are they? should i go for the cheap ones on ebay for 23.99?

Can't say I've had them on my Suby, but yes. The other cars I've owned I have put them on. I did notice it. Tightened things up a bit. Not to make it sound like it make a canyon carver out of the car, but for the low cost (100 bucks) they work. Don't know if I'd go with $24 one thou. Most of the time, you get what you pay for.

/\rcanum

But it is a cool engine dress up item ! A good package of sway bars, strut braces, and bushing altogether do much but each alone is a bit weak

they always look nice plus it has a cool factor

i asked a rally racer this same question. i was wondering if they were necessary or made a difference. i was told that they really don't make that much of a difference with stock suspension but on the other hand they do with aftermarket. i didn't go into detail, but i'm assuming that meant coilovers? she told me she had seen windshields crack/bust running stiffer suspension and no front strut brace (while rallyracing). hope this helps.;)
DF

p.s. if you are going to buy one i would suggest an sti or sti replica as they are the only strut bars (that i know of) that will clear a bigger top mount intercooler..

i am sure if you have a full roll cage strut bars don't mean crap.

i asked myself the same question last week: are front strut bars worth it. after reading about mixed opinions on iclub, i went ahead and bought them yesterday. after putting in on, i took a test drive in the hills near my house to see if there was a difference. result....there IS a difference.

i noticed that my car is sturdier and more "composed" around turns and over bumps. however, understeer is ENHANCED, so i have to work a little "harder" while cornering.

i bought the Sti replica strut bar, btw. for the price, i think it's a good purchase.

I know I could feel the difference when I put one on my old Civic.
But that's a different car, the WRX is probably a lot stiffer to begin with.

read: my Sti replica fr strut bar was put on my WRX. there was a difference. as for how significant the change is, i can't tell you there. from a complete stock setup, the strut bar DID make a difference.

If you really think about the logic behind the whole thing I think that there are only good facts.

a girl friend of mine once told me "stiffer is better" so....

~B

They really do nothing b/c they are so close to the fire wall. If you wanna feel a difference, get a rear sway bar.

i would think the rear strut bars would make more of a difference than the fronts. the front struts are already very close to the firewall so not that much flexing will happen, esp on a stock suspension. the rears would flex more so they would make a bigger difference. also rear low tie bars don't do anything.

edit: yah basically what lobster man said

Daios (Day-ohhss)

hey, i'm just jotting down what i noticed. the rear strut bar idea is cool and i would go with that too, but the passthrough is just way too important for me to go put a bar in between.

for the chump change to get a better feel, i'd do it again if i had to make the same decision.

I worry about losing cargo space in my wagon

they are so cheap these days you cannot afford not to have one

They aren't a big money item to begin with...if you can afford to blow some change for them, why worry if they "do anything"?

Even if they don't do anything, they add a certain amount of "coolness" to the engine bay and trunk.

Its not like we're talking about a big money item here like heads or cams.

What kind of money is "not big?"

I didn't notice a significant handling with the installation of my front strut bar but then again, this was back when i had stock suspension, i would probably notice a greater difference if i installed one now. I guess the easy experiment is to take it off and see if theres a loss of steering feel and precision..

Ed

Having installed both a front and rear brace (at different times) I would have to say that the rear strut brace is definitely worth it. The front strut brace just looks nice, but I wouldn't say it really helped with anything. Mike Shields said way back about being close to the firewall, and I'm fairly inclined to belive him. My personal experience supports that. But....it looks nice.

I have practically EVERY brace that Cusco makes for the GC8 Impreza.....and i noticed almost NO difference with the FRONT sturt tower bar...it is more of an advertising peice for Cusco than anything else on my car! looks cool, looks the job, does practically nothing....IMHO
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